The Right to Work of Asylum-Seekers and Refugees in Bulgaria: Rethinking Integration
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The Right to Work of Asylum-Seekers and Refugees in Bulgaria: Rethinking Integration Iva Gumnishka HRTS W3996 Human Rights Thesis Seminar – Spring 2017 Institute for the Study of Human Rights Columbia University Abstract The Right to Work of Asylum-Seekers and Refugees in Bulgaria: Rethinking Integration Iva Gumnishka This thesis discusses the right to work of refugees and asylum-seekers in the context of the current refugee crisis, using Bulgaria as an example of the less studied case of transit countries. Bulgaria legally recognizes the right to work of refugees and yet has no political will to effectively fulfill this right with appropriate integration policies. At the same, refugees are not interested in integration because they perceive Bulgaria as a pit stop, but still need income, so they engage in informal employment in precarious conditions. Through an analysis of the legal and policy framework, and the practical constraints for accessing adequate employment, this thesis proposes to rethink the paradigm of integration, which is not attractive to either the government or refugees, and offers an alternative human rights-based approach. Table of Contents List of abbreviations……………………………………………………………………………....ii Acknowledgements.…………………………………………………………………………...... iii Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………………………………………………………1 1.1. Refugees, the right to work, and the concept of integration.......……………………..1 1.2. Transit countries: a case study of Bulgaria…………………………………………...3 1.3. Methodology………………………………………………………………………….5 Chapter 2: Theoretical framework……………………………….......……………..……………10 2.1. Conceptualization of the right to work of refugees and asylum-seekers……………10 2.2. The identity and status of refugees……………………….…………………………12 2.3. Integration and belonging…………………………………………………………...14 2.4. Transit countries……………………………………………………………………..16 Chapter 3: Sociopolitical background of the refugee crisis in Bulgaria…………………………19 3.1. Development of the crisis………………………………………………………….. 20 3.2. Characteristics of the asylum-seeking population…………………………………..22 3.3. Political scene, far-right parties and anti-refugee discourse……….………………..24 Chapter 4: Legal and policy framework…………………………………………………………26 4.1. Applicable international law….……………………………………………………..26 4.2. Applicable domestic law…………………………………………………………….28 4.3. Policies up to 2013…………………………………………………………………..29 4.4. Policies since 2014: the years of “zero integration”………………………………...33 Chapter 5: Current employment situation ……………..………………………………………...37 5.1. Tendencies in the economic life of refugees………………………………………...37 5.2. Problems faced by refugees…………………………………………………………40 5.3. The role of civil society……………………………………………………………. 45 Chapter 6: Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………50 6.1. Alternatives and good practices………………………………..………………........51 6.2. Rethinking integration………………………………… ………………………...…53 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………..58 i List of abbreviations BHC – Bulgarian Helsinki Committee ECRE – European Council on Refugees and Exiles EU –European Union ILO – International Labor Organization LAR – Law on Asylum and Refugees OECD – Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development SAR – State Agency for Refugees UNHCR – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF – United Nations Children's Fund ii Acknowledgements This thesis is the fruit of a field research that I completed in Bulgaria in January 2017. I would like to thank all of the people who agreed to give me an interview and share their observations on the topic, namely Mariana Stoyanova, Lora Milanova and Mohamed Kemal Zaki from the Bulgarian Red Cross, Iliyana Bozhova from SAR, Vera Zaharieva from IOM Bulgaria, Emiliya Bratanova from UNHCR, Bistra Ivanova from the Multi-Kulti Collective, Katerina Stoyanova from The Refugee Project, Mohamed Ezz from the Association of Syrian Refugees, Stana Iliev, Yavor Stoyanov, and Basel Husni. I would also like to thank Professor Mila Rosenthal and my colleagues from the Human Rights Senior Seminar for their guidance and insights. Thank you also to my friend Alice, who helped me with her comments. Finally, I want to thank my mother and my sister for their love and constant support for my endeavors, and my boyfriend Sulaimane Mezzouji for always believing in me. iii 1 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1. Refugees, the right to work and the concept of integration The 1951 Refugee Convention was written in order to respond to a very specific challenge: the large population of European refugees due to the post-World War II displacements of population and the rise of totalitarian regimes in the continent. However, in 1967 this ad hoc convention had to be complemented with an additional protocol which removed its temporal and geographic limits since even more people around the world were fleeing their countries due to fears of persecution. The status of refugees is still regulated by the same convention and its underlying assumptions, built around the image of the European refugee of the 1950s. Today, we are witnessing what has become known as “the largest refugee crisis since World War Two.” the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has reported that there are 65 million displaced people worldwide, 25 million of whom are refugees or asylum-seekers, the other 40 million being internally displaced.1 And 50 years after the 1967 protocol, multiple voices call for another reformulation of what a refugee is in order to respond to the changing international context, the fact that migration flows are mixed and that it is not so easy anymore to distinguish between those who “genuinely” need asylum and those who migrate “merely” seeking a better life (even though they might fleeing from countries endemically plagued by corruption, terror, poverty and lack of respect for human rights). The predominant idea since the 1950s has been that refugees are meant to look for asylum and not for a job in the new country. If they are looking for economic opportunities, they would 1 UNHCR. “Global Trends. Forced Displacement in 2015.” (2016). 2 rather fall under the category of economic migrants and should not be allowed preferential access to other countries. Thus, employment becomes a critical space in which the identity and rights of refugees are negotiated. By tracing an epistemic and legal divide between refugees and economic migrants, one recognizes their socioeconomic needs in different degrees and ends up restricting refugees to life in refugee camps and reliance on humanitarian aid. Alternatively, they are criticized for immigrating to other countries in search of better employment and welfare provision even after being granted asylum – what is known as “asylum-shopping.” So in terms of refugee protection, the legal status of refugees may facilitate their access to countries of asylum, but in the long term may result harmful to their ability to earn their livelihoods. Taking all of this into account, this thesis will emphasize the economic interests of refugees and the need for a shift from the humanitarian relief structure towards rights protection, self-reliance, and access to sustainable livelihoods.2 When refugees do not have legal access to employment, they frequently end up working illegally in order to provide for themselves. The risk of labor exploitation and precariousness in such situations is high, hence refugees deserve enhanced protection as a vulnerable group whose rights are enshrined in international and state law. Frequently, measures for protecting and fulfilling refugees’ access to work come within the framework of “integration policies,” which are permeated with assumptions about a projected ascension to citizenship by fulfilling a number of prerequisites, such as learning the local language, adapting to local society, remaining in the country and being sedentary instead of immigrating. However, this intense focus on making refugees “belong” is what might provoke the failure of such policies, as well as divert resources from alternative approaches that might be 2 “Refugee Crisis Reveals Critical Gaps in Support for Millions Fleeing Conflict.” Columbia Global Centers Symposium. December 15, 2016. 3 more beneficial for refugees’ rights and overall wellbeing. We might want to reconsider whether the imperative of integration is compatible with the fulfillment of the basic human rights of refugees, such as the right to work. Therefore, the proposal of this thesis is to rethink integration, and instead adopt a human rights-based approach in order to respond best to the needs of refugees. 1.2. Transit countries: a case study of Bulgaria In the context of the current refugee crisis in Europe, the process of integration is becoming more and more problematic. Not only are most governments not interested in facilitating the integration of refugees and asylum-seekers, fearing that this might create a “pull” factor (Germany is an important exception here), but refugees and asylum-seekers themselves are frequently unmotivated to stay and “integrate” into countries they perceive as transit. So as we recognize that refugees are individuals with economic interests, we must also recognize that transit countries and final destination countries need to adopt different approaches to the situation. Bulgaria, a country in South-Eastern Europe that is located on the way of asylum-seekers to Western Europe, is a case in point. It is perceived by refugees as not very economically prosperous and as hostile, due to border violence and the ambiguous messages of the government and society on whether they